If you live in and around Elkton, Maryland, child care assistance may be available to you if you qualify. OK, so you may know about this, but how do you find out? What do you need to do to get this much-needed assistance?
You probably have these and many other questions. We won’t pretend to be able to answer every question you have, but we’ll attempt to answer a few of the most crucial questions.
The most important thing to remember is that to get the help with child care expenses you need, may require some legwork in the form of paperwork or appointments with local, state, or federal government agencies.
Of course, much of the information for help with child day care is available online, and some of the paperwork may even be able to be completed online.
How Do I Get the Financial Assistance for Day Care That I Need?
The best way to get financial assistance for day care in the state of Maryland is to take advantage of the Child Care Subsidy program (CCS) available through Maryland Public Schools.
This program is available to Maryland residents who are receiving government assistance (such as Temporary Cash A
ssistance or TCA), Social Security benefits such as SSI (supplemental security income), or meet CCS income guidelines (available at the Early Childhood Education website of the Maryland Public Schools (earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/child-care-providers/child-care-subsidy-program).
To be eligible, you also have to follow Maryland state immunization standards or are pursuing child support.
Certain income standards exist, for example, a family of four can not make more than $35,702. The website mentioned above has a list of the specific guidelines for your information.
Government Assistance for Child Care, Submissions You’ll Need
The application necessary to receive government assistance for child care can also be found at the above website, but you’ll need to submit a variety of things with your application.
Amongst these needed to add along with the application are verification paperwork about your income and training or work activity. You’ll also need to keep in mind that the forms and paperwork required apply to each member of your household.
You’ll need to provide a copy of your identification (such as birth certificate or driver’s license), four weeks worth of consecutive pay stubs (most recent), proof of the following: approved activities (school, work, etc.), any other income, child support (payments or cooperation), and your proof of address (this can be lease agreement or utility bill).
Apply for Free Day Care in Maryland
In addition to the above child care assistance, you can find other ways to apply for free day care in Maryland, such as Maryland Head Start (through www.benefits.gov/benefits/), the Maryland Department of Human Resources (dhr.maryland.gov/purchase-of-care/).
There are also local and county level benefits available. A browser searches for phrases (keywords) such as “Elkton, Maryland child care assistance,” “financial assistance for day care,” “government assistance for child care,” and “apply for free day care.”
Any of these searches will provide you with a list of links to websites which can assist you, many of which have links to the actual applications you need to fill out.